


The Wind Is Blowing

by rynling



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen, Grumpy Old Men, Happy Ending, Wind Waker AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-22 21:15:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8301367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rynling/pseuds/rynling
Summary: Daphnes attempts to talk to Ganondorf at the top of Ganon’s Tower after the full Triforce is revealed, and Ganondorf listens.





	

"Gods! Hear that which I desire!"

Ganondorf stretched his hand toward the Triforce, which shone as brightly as a sky full of stars, infinite in its possibilities.

"Expose this land to the rays of the sun once more! Let them burn forth! Give Hyrule... to me!!"

He took a step forward.

"Ganondorf," a voice rang out from behind him. It had been years since he had heard his name spoken aloud, and he knew that only one person would use it to address him.

"Daphnes," Ganondorf hissed, the taste of the syllables bitter on his tongue. "Impede me in this and I will strike you down where you stand."

"He who touches the Triforce will have whatever he desires granted. That is what you said, is it not, Ganondorf?" Daphnes continued, his voice calm and measured. "I came to ask that you reconsider the wish you intend to realize."

"The gods must have bestowed a boon of courage for you to have come at all. I thought you would be content to allow these children to fight in your stead."

The Triforce gleamed in front of Ganondorf's eyes, but it no longer commanded the entirety of his attention. Despite himself, he could not ignore Daphnes, although the man was now nothing more than a remnant of a forgotten kingdom. He could say the same of himself, but which of them had made the greater mistake? He had coveted Hyrule, but Daphnes had doomed it. The hypocrisy of the man's plea that he exercise restraint appalled him, yet he could not cast the suggestion from his mind.

"The children fight for themselves," Daphnes said softly. "They fight to defend this world."

"They would defend this world? This world is dying. What is there for them to protect?"

"The Great Sea is all they know, Ganondorf. Our world belongs to the past."

Daphnes sighed, his weariness communicated so clearly in his breath that Ganondorf couldn't help but turn away from the Triforce to face him. He had kept track of the man's movements from island to island, allowing Daphnes free rein only so that the curse of the Triforce could run its course as it drew its bearers inexorably together. The old king was nothing more than a vehicle, his stories of quests and heroism so childish as to be laughable. _Defeat the evil_ , he had told the boy, _save the princess_. As if the princess had ever needed saving; as if he had ever been the evil threatening Hyrule. The will of the Triforce was ghastly, ghoulish in its hunger to devour the peoples who fell within the sphere of its influence. The utilization of its power was a terrible risk, but he had no other choice.

"This is a future that should never have come to pass. Hyrule can still be salvaged from the Great Sea." Ganondorf shook his head. "You must know this, Daphnes."

Daphnes only glared at him in response, the eldritch glow of the Triforce filling his eyes with a hard light. His crimson greatcoat, once so regal, was now threadbare, the embroidery on its sleeves unraveling in thin and dirty strands. Deep lines cut into the contours of his face, and his beard was matted and gray. Although his back was still straight, his shoulders slumped, and it was clear that the magic he had used to transform himself and aid the boy had taken its toll.

Daphnes stepped to the side to reveal Link and Tetra, whom he had been blocking with his body. They knelt together on the wet stones of the tower roof, their faces impossibly young. For all his meandering, the boy had been brave, and despite her impetuousness the girl had been clever. It was unfortunate that neither of them knew anything about the land that lay far under the dead waters of the ocean. Perhaps the boy had seen glimpses of its wonders during his travels, and perhaps the girl had seen visions of its glory in her dreams, but the marvels they had witnessed had not been enough to sway them from their course.

Over the heads of the crouching children and beyond the crumbling edge of the ancient masonry spread the gray and lifeless vista of Hyrule. When Ganondorf had awoken in this era, he had been horrified by what had become of the once green land, its gentle winds forever stilled. Only he and his soldiers had remained behind like statues in a winter garden that would never feel the warmth of spring.

"You may think these children fight against you, Ganondorf," Daphnes said, gesturing at Link and Tetra, "but they are fighting for all the life that struggles and thrusts its way forward on the Great Sea. It is an easy to choose an enemy to fight against. It is a more difficult task to find a cause to fight for. What are you fighting for, Ganondorf?"

"You mock me," Ganondorf growled. "I fight for all the lives that have been lost in your wars."

Daphnes clenched his fists, but then his hands fell open as he turned his gaze to the distance. "The wars are over, and those who have fallen will not return. Only we remain, and I can no longer fight you for the Triforce. It has done enough damage, and I will not turn to the Goddesses for help a second time. The price they demand for their blessings is too dear."

Ganondorf was filled with an intense and burning hatred. How dare the idiot king lecture him on the dangers of the Triforce? The moment passed, and the spark of his rage fizzled as he realized that Daphnes's face was merely tired, and even with the Master Sword and Golden Arrows the two children he shielded were merely lost. The tableau they presented to him was nothing more than a farce. How pathetic they all were, and how ridiculous.

At his back the Triforce sang its siren song, but its call had lost its urgency and resonance.

"If we leave the Triforce here," Ganondorf said, refusing to look at it, "then there will come a day when some fool will seek it, and the cycle of destruction will begin anew."

"I fear you speak truly," Daphnes agreed. "But that fool will not be either of us. Let the Goddesses find their amusement elsewhere."

Ganondorf looked down at his hand, which was finally free of the mark that had branded it for more years than he cared to recall. In the legends of the Great Sea he had been cast as the Demon King, his every deed an indication of his villainy; but he was not a monster, merely a man who had become trapped within a game much larger than himself. He had thought he could play against the gods, but his victories had been hollow, and pain had been his only reward. He was tired of this game, and he refused to play his role in its story any longer.

"So be it," Ganondorf said, his heart heavy. "I grow weary of the company of ghosts."

Daphnes smiled in response, his face losing its unearthly pallor as the light of the Triforce began to fade.


End file.
